Impact of implementation of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative for Neonatal Wards - Neo-BFHI on the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding in premature infants and care practices

Author(s)

Talita Balaminut

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: Ribeirão Preto.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto (PCARP/BC)
• Defense date: 2018-12-19

Examining board members

Carmen Gracinda Silvan Scochi; Marialda Moreira Christoffel; Adriana Moraes Leite; Edilaine Giovanini Rossetto

• Advisor: Carmen Gracinda Silvan Scochi; Sonia Semenic

Abstract

The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) is widely adopted in Brazilian maternity hospitals, even though the complex and technological context of neonatal wards and the difficulties with breastfeeding premature infants are not considered. The overall objective is to evaluate the impact of implementation of the BFHI for Neonatal Wards (Neo-BFHI) guided by the Knowledge Translation (KT) framework on the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) at hospital discharge, in the first month after discharge, and at six months of life among premature infants, and regarding compliance with Neo-BFHI guidelines. This is an intervention, controlled, quasiexperimental, pre-and post-test, non-equivalent and prospective study conducted in two BabyFriendly hospitals located in Southeastern Brazil. Data collection was performed in two moments at the hospitals (intervention and control) with a minimum interval of 12 months, and at the intervention hospital, collection was before (M1) and after (M2) implementation of the Neo-BFHI. Data on the prevalence of EBF and health conditions of preterm infants were collected from medical charts and interviews with mothers, and regarding compliance with the Neo-BFHI through interviews with professionals and mothers, observation of neonatal wards and documentary analysis. Qualitative data were collected to monitor contextual factors. Implementation of the NeoBFHI was guided by the model of Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services of KT and by the Evidence-Based Practice Identification & Change strategy. Logistic regression with random effect was used for analysis of data on the prevalence of EBF and its predictive factors. This thesis integrates a multicenter project funded and approved by the Research Ethics Committee. The prevalence of EBF at discharge was significantly higher in the intervention hospital than in the control (p<0.01). This was a result from the difference detected in M1 (p<0.01) and in M2 (p=0.04), with higher rates (M1=48.1%; M2=40.8%) than in the control hospital (M1=3.1%; M2=17.2%). When comparing the moments intragroup, there was no significant difference in the intervention hospital (p=0.12) nor in the control (p=0.42). In the first month after discharge, the prevalence of EBF was significantly higher (p=0.02) in the intervention hospital (M1=46.1%; M2=29.8%) than in the control (M1=6.3%; M2=17.2%) because of the difference in M1 (p=0.02), since there was no difference in M2 (p=0.41). When comparing the moments intragroup, there was no significant difference in the intervention hospital (p=0.12) nor in the control (p=0.40). At the sixth month of life, when adding EBF and the predominant breastfeeding, there was no significant difference between the intervention and control hospitals (p=0.27) regardless of the time of collection; neither between hospitals in M1 (p=0.46) and in M2 (p=0.39), although the intervention hospital maintained higher rates (M1=14.3%; M2=10.6%) than the control (M1=3.6%; M2=3.4%). There was no significant difference intragroup in the intervention hospital (p=0.96) nor in the control (p=0.90). In the adjusted logistic regression, the only predictor of EBF was the duration of hospitalization only at hospital discharge. Practices related to Neo-BFHI guidelines improved significantly in the intervention hospital with increase of overall compliance with the Ten Steps from 33% to 67%, to the Three Guiding Principles from 43% to 86% and to the Code from 56% to 81%, which were not as marked in the control hospital. Thus, was reached the conclusion that implementation of KT-guided Neo-BFHI improved the clinical practice of promotion, protection and support to EBF with increased compliance with Neo-BFHI, but it was not sufficient to increase exclusive breastfeeding of preterm infants in the short term (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 14/10680-1 - Effectiveness of the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative on neonatal units - Neo-BFHI implementation in the prevalence of breastfeeding in premature infants
• Grantee: Talita Balaminut
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)